Architects, what is software really worth for you?

Everyone who has ever started their own business knows there are endless costs involved. The old adage holds true; it takes money to make money! Start-ups especially have to watch where their money is going in order to prevent more flowing out than in. Staying ahead in a highly competitive business world means to be as efficient as possible. Some expenses will obviously make sense or they are just a normal cost of doing business in today’s world. For instance, business owners MUST pay their employees, right?

And guess what? Employees cost you the most of all. If you can make their time more efficient with some %, it will pay off instantly.

However, there are some “tools“ that can truly make the workday and employees well-organized, thereby saving them time and thus saving you money. Let’s take a look at one “tool” that is truly in the forefront these days…software.

Cloud software pays itself back immediately.

Suppose you decide software is necessary for your company. These days there are tons of options. One cutting-edge solution is cloud software (also called SaaS – Software as a Service), which streamlines costs, as you don’t pay for a huge custom software program that your company does not need and spend time and money trying to teach your employees to work efficiently with it. Don’t forget about continuing IT costs and upgrading the version when needed!

With cloud software solutions you automatically avoid those issues, pay for only what you need (usually small monthly subscriptions) as well as give all of your workers secure and dependable access to information from anywhere, anytime, day or night. All your critical data is in one place for employees out in the field or on the go. The ability to work 24/7 if necessary and from anywhere alone saves time and money and is a huge enhancer for productivity! The online solution can be used by any device capable of connecting to the internet, for instance smartphones and tablets. And most cloud softwares let you drop out at any given moment, so no need for long term contracts.

If you charge $20 per hour or more, cloud software pays itself back in the first week.

So what is it worth to you? Say the cloud/web software subscription is $20/month. If it enables you and your employees to be more efficient, $240/year is a small price to pay. Why?

For example: if your time is worth $20/hour and you can save 20 hours per month (5 hours per week – 1 hour per day) in time that equates to a substantial $400/month savings, minus your $20 investment. This has more than paid for the cloud software in only 1 month. And, most architects charge far more than $20/hour!

This is only 1 employee we are examining. Think about if you have a staff of 5 employees? What about 10 employees? You can make your whole staff more efficient by lowering employee cost and by having more time to focus on your core business. If this math works for you, then time saving cloud software that costs $500/month for a staff of 10 employees is a no brainer.

Again, compared to what a business owner pays out in payroll and other major operating costs…this cloud software expense amounts to peanuts. In today’s challenging business environment, with relentless cost pressures, it has become imperative that business owners create lasting value that is deeply rooted into the company; value and worth that is tangible and that endures.

2 Responses

How a successful architect uses the cloud to run his business – with architect Ron Kwaske · December 2, 2013 at 20:55:46 · →

[…] If we ask Ron if he thinks his data is safe in the cloud he argues cleverly. “Is my data safe when it’s on a server in my office? Obviously not. My computer can crash, it gets stolen, or we might have a fire in the office. These software companies are specialized in this field, staffing multiple people that are occupied with managing and securing servers every minute of the day. We (as a small business specialized in architecture) can never do as good as them. Let everyone do what they are best at, for us that’s designing and architecture! Every hour that I save on IT and administration is one I can spend on billing projects. If you do the math, a monthly fee of $50 dollar for a cloud software that saves you various hours a …” […]

10 simple (random) tips for getting the most out of your tablet on the construction site · November 2, 2016 at 12:35:26 · →

[…] here a blogpost about the true value of software and why paying software can be a very lucrative thing to invest in and boost your […]

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